The best dresser restoration ideas. The best ways to restore a dresser at home, useful tips

A chest of drawers is a comfortable and functional piece of furniture. Of course, the shortage of furniture is in the distant past, and today you can buy almost any furniture in stores. However, it is sometimes inappropriate to throw away old things. Often, restoring a dresser gives an excellent result, much better than purchasing a new item. It also happens that the need to restore old furniture is dictated by the canons of the style in which the interior is sustained. This applies to such style solutions as Country, Provence or Scandinavian direction. Or maybe you just want to realize your artistic abilities by making a beautiful and functional thing yourself? In any case, the tips from this article will help you restore the appearance of the chest of drawers, spending a minimum of effort and money.

Points for and against"

Many people make the mistake of considering furniture renovation and restoration synonymous. This is not true:

Repair involves removing peeling paint, sanding, applying a new layer of dye, and fixing loose elements.
Restoring an old chest of drawers is a much deeper concept than redecorating. Moreover, with a skillful restoration, an updated dresser can become a truly unique, exclusive piece, and therefore more valuable.

Important! Before carrying out the restoration yourself, carefully examine the thing. It is possible that you are the owner of some truly valuable antique furniture. In this case, an unprofessional approach can only harm. You can invite a specialist who will evaluate the product. Before the conclusion of a professional, do not make independent repairs or restoration.

Do-it-yourself dresser restoration process

So, you've decided to restore the item yourself. This work is not easy, painstaking, almost gem-quality, requiring a lot of time. Each stage is very important, so nothing can be missed. Here is a detailed master class on how to restore an old chest of drawers with your own hands.

For work you will need tools:

A hammer.
Rubber mallet.
Set of brushes.

Do not forget to prepare the following materials:

Adhesive for wood.
Wood putty.
A set of sandpaper with different grain sizes.
Toothpicks.
An old toothbrush.
Tooth powder or special hardware cleaner.
Paint.

Furniture cleaning

This is a very crucial stage. Cleaning must be done in such a way as not to damage the surface of the product and the decor:

First, wash the product with a soft sponge and a solution of laundry soap.
If the chest of drawers is decorated with antique carvings, then you can clean the small parts with a toothbrush.
Remove the hardware items and clean with tooth powder or special cleaning compound.
Use a toothpick or thin awl to clean hard-to-reach areas, such as crevices and corners.
Sandpaper will help get rid of stubborn dirt. At the same time, you cannot press hard on it.

Important! The surface must be thoroughly sanded before re-painting.

Preliminary preparation

After the dresser has been cleaned of dirt and dried, it is time to replace the damaged parts. It's pretty tricky. You can try to find them in an antique store or go to a carpentry shop with an order.

By the way, professional craftsmen can help with fixing the decor to the furniture.

Check that the bolts and screws are firmly fastened, for cracks in the wood. Remove loose or rusted bolts. They will have to be replaced with new ones. Small cracks can be bonded with an adhesive, and larger cracks with wood putty.

Important! It is necessary that the tone of the putty matches the shade of the wood exactly. If wood is to be treated with wood stain, a special type of putty must be used.

Coloration

Of course, the texture of natural wood is unusually beautiful, but sometimes, in order to organically fit old design furniture into a modern interior, it needs to be painted. The easiest way is to paint in one tone, for example, white:

Remove the remnants of the old coating from the surface of the chest of drawers. Be careful when doing this. First, there is a risk of damaging the decor. Secondly, it is impossible for the coating particles to accumulate in hard-to-reach crevices and corners.
To level the surface, sand it thoroughly, then fill any unnecessary holes with putty.
After the putty is dry, wipe it off with sandpaper.
Use for coloring.

Important! Applying varnish over paint makes the surface glossy.

Replacing parts

First of all, we are talking about pens. Sure, antique handles are great, but with updated furnishings, they look alien. Therefore, it is advisable to purchase new fittings that match the style and equip an updated chest of drawers.

Do-it-yourself dresser decoupage at home

This art came to us from France. If you do everything carefully, you will end up with a unique, non-standard and very beautiful thing. So, follow this algorithm:

Paint the prepared furniture white.
Wait for the paint to dry completely.
Cut patterns out of paper napkins. Stick them onto the surface of the dresser. A PVA composition is suitable for gluing.
After the glue is dry, cover the surface with varnish.

Another restoration option

This option is for the restoration of an old chest of drawers with three large and two small drawers.

From tools and materials you will need:

Composition for removing a layer of old paint.
Chisel.
Sandpaper set.
Self-tapping screws.
PVA glue.
Matt putty.
Decorative moldings made of polyurethane foam.
Paraffin.
Wallpaper.
Acrylic dye on water.
Transparent varnish on water.
Decorative handles.

Preparatory stage:

Unscrew the old handles from the dresser.
Next, using a special compound, free the surface from the layer of old dye.

Important! If the paint is thick, a chisel can be used.

Sand the furniture thoroughly to reveal the texture of the wood.
In places where the surface is uneven, apply putty and level. After drying, sand the surface with sandpaper.

Important! Avoid pressing hard to avoid damaging the mastic layer. As a result, a perfectly flat surface should be obtained.

To get the new handles into place, putty the old holes, then use a drill to drill new ones.

Important! It is very convenient if you have to fix the fittings on special screws. You do not need to drill holes for them.

Dilute PVA glue with water and treat the surface of the product. You can use any primer instead of PVA.
After the glue solution has dried, you can start decorating the chest of drawers with your own hands.

Decorating:

First of all, fit the drawer and side frames. Frames can be made from polymer moldings. The main thing is to accurately and accurately measure so that the frame looks neat.
Fasten the frames with screws, and cover the caps with mastic.
After that, carefully paint the frames with acrylic. For example, coffee, white or beige colors look beautiful.
Cover the surface inside the frame with wallpaper to match.
The last step is to cover the entire structure with several layers of varnish.

After you have restored your dresser, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with other options for updating furniture.

Wood furniture, antique dressers, antique wardrobes, sideboards, oak, walnut, mahogany, have been restored in our workshop over the years. Most often, damage has to be repaired: peeling veneer, white spots on the countertop, cracks in wood, boxes.

furniture locks of the old design. Worn drawer guides, restoration of color, varnish, lost handles - everything is repaired, repaired, restored, we even make the keys to old locks ourselves.

Dresser restoration price

The price of the restoration of the chest of drawers is determined on a case-by-case basis. The easiest way to start is with a preliminary estimate of the cost of restoration from the photo sent by mail. The restorer will determine the age of the chest of drawers, the style, the type of wood and the degree of wear, with an experienced glance, by external signs. Draw up a rough restoration plan. In the assessment of not restored, intended for sale or purchase of an antique antique chest of drawers, wardrobe, sideboard, sofa, we can also help by determining their style, age and condition from a photograph.

Video of the restoration of the chest of drawers (filmed in our workshop)

Buy antique chest of drawers

Experienced furniture collectors buy antique furniture inexpensively in an unrestored condition. Firstly, it is much cheaper this way, and secondly, externally attractive furniture brought to an expositional state will still require a complete good restoration.

When buying an old antique chest of drawers, you need to know exactly how much restoration work will cost. The price, in addition to direct restoration work, will include delivery, loading, repair of locks, production or purchase of bronze handles. Removing furniture bugs, odors, old furniture, and many other unforeseen expenses that significantly increase the final cost of restoring an old antique chest of drawers.

When buying an antique chest of drawers, it is important to understand what style the interior object belongs to, what breed: walnut, mahogany or birch it is made of, age, country of origin, maybe the way of life, the name of the master or the name of the famous furniture school. It is also important to imagine that old furniture bought in poor condition will turn out after restoration. Any restoration workshop, like a person, has its own signature, style, and its own concept of good restoration. Here it is important to choose exactly those restoration masters who do their work in accordance with the individual requirements of a particular customer. Someone likes that antique furniture would look like it was just made by a master, without any scratches on the wood, lacquer chips, cracks. For some, it is important to preserve the patina, traces of existence, small defects indicating the age of the cabinet, table, sofa, armchair.

We always invite our future customers to visit our workshop in order to demonstrate mahogany furniture at different stages of restoration, acquaint with our restoration technologies and offer various options for lacquer, wax and other types of finishes. You can also buy a mahogany chest of drawers from us, already restored, in good condition. Our restoration technologies allow us to carry out almost all types of finishing of antique furniture with authentic materials.

The main focus of the workshop is to preserve the authenticity and artistic characteristics of antique furniture. After cleaning, restoration of the structure, correct finishing, antique furniture always surpasses modern counterparts in beauty and convenience. A competent restoration does not need additional aging of the wood, applying a patina or artificially imitating beetle damage.

Old chest of drawers

Chests of drawers, as a kind of furniture, are more than 4 centuries old, therefore they have a rich history and can be presented in a wide variety of forms. The most popular of them are: varguena, bombe, seminer and hayboy.

... (vargueno) The name and the chest of drawers itself first appeared in Spain. Consists of a large number of drawers. During the Baroque era, it was incredibly popular.

The Spanish term vargueno refers to one of the most popular pieces of Spanish furniture in the 16th-17th centuries - a desk-cabinet, standing on a chest or stand with many drawers. It usually has a drop-board. Meticulously decorated with fine carvings, later with gilded bronze.

In France under Louis XIV (1638-1715) varguena received the French name "chest of drawers" from the French word commode, which means comfortable. Currently, all pieces of furniture for storing linen and clothes with two or more drawers are called dressers.

The French term bombe refers to the shape of the chest, popular during the early 18th century Regency, with convex walls that seemed to swell in the middle, which could have been other items of closed cabinet furniture, such as dressers. Sometimes a two-piece bomb is called a pot-bellied chest of drawers.

Seminer - one of the French versions of the Louis XVI chest of drawers. It got its name from the French word semanier - "week". It has seven drawers and is designed to hold a week's supply of clothing, also called tall or narrow. The seminar can have, in addition to seven containers, an upper compartment with a folding front panel for writing. This elegant piece was veneered with precious woods and gilded bronze. Later seminars were made and decorated according to the styles and fashions of the time of production. The number of drawers changed, but the name of a tall narrow chest of drawers with many identical pull-out compartments remained.

Highboy. A long and narrow chest of drawers with many compartments with high legs. Nowadays, such cabinets are better known as a collection cabinet or filing cabinet.

The rise in popularity of dressers falls on the first half of the 18th century, the Rococo era, the heyday of ladies' refined and sophisticated furniture. Wardrobes with drawers kept jewelry, clothes, evidence of intrigue, secrets of secret correspondence. The luxury of decoration knew no bounds. Inlaid with ivory, tortoise, finishing with Chinese black and red lacquer, porcelain. Plated with gold leaf, adorned with shining bronze, mother-of-pearl, non-ferrous metals. Worthy samples presented in museums around the world to this day make you admire the magnificent work of the old masters.

In modern times, the furniture market pleases with its diversity. You can buy absolutely any piece of furniture, referring to your taste. But what about old furniture? Wouldn't it be of any use anymore? Many people are still looking for and buying antiques in order to breathe new life into it, make restoration and give their homes the elements of antiquity. It is very easy to restore even the most ordinary old chest of drawers with your own hands in a master class, while it will become the finishing touch to the interior.

Sanded machine;
Sandpaper;
Jigsaw;
A hammer;
Hacksaw;
File;
Putty knife;
Ruler and pencil;
Roller and several brushes for painting;
MDF tile;
Nails;
Wood paints;
Self-tapping screws.

As soon as all the tools are prepared, the very restoration of the chest of drawers begins, which is carried out according to a specific plan.

Step-by-step master class for beginners on updating an old chest of drawers at home

Step 1.
The working area and the chest of drawers are being prepared for restoration. All the boxes are taken from it, the handles are unscrewed. With the help of sandpaper, the old coating is removed from the chest of drawers - it can be paint and varnish. The surface of the chest of drawers is very carefully sanded.

The chest of drawers is checked for the strength of the connection of parts. Poorly screwed self-tapping screws are taken out, and if the details of the chest of drawers were attached with glue, then it is carefully removed again using sandpaper and a sanded machine. In order for the glue to separate well from the furniture surface, it must be heated. This can be done using the famous folk method: boil the kettle to such a state that steam comes out of the spout, and the spout of the kettle itself is directed to the junction with the glue. Steam glue softens and, accordingly, it will be easier to remove.

All joints of the old chest of drawers are coated with a new layer of PVA and pulled together with self-tapping screws. For greater strength, metal corners can be used.

At this stage, the chest of drawers is inspected for scratches or defects. If there are any, then they must be putty.

After the putty has dried, a coat of paint (the color that was originally chosen) must be applied to the surface of the chest of drawers. Once the paint has dried, you might want to consider decorating your new dresser.

As you can see, it is very easy to do the restoration of an old chest of drawers with your own hands using this master class. But for the perfect result, watch the video:

Storage space is a must. And here dressers come to the rescue. If your old chest of drawers seems boring to you, or you find that the one you just bought is too simple, the ideas that we have carefully selected for you come to the rescue. Lots of patterns with stickers, wallpaper, paint; gradient effect; new, vibrant colors - your updated dresser will become the most memorable interior detail.

Before decorating the dresser, choose a new color for it. Sunny yellow, bold red or fresh green work wonders. Then think about how you want to decorate the drawer fronts. It can be a pattern, a picture, or a solid color. An interesting idea is to paint the boxes with a gradient. To do this, you need to choose a base color and paint each box several shades lighter than the previous one. Get inspired by our photo selection!